The Isaacs

The Isaacs have been making incredible music together for more than 30 years. Their award-winning sound skillfully merges three distinct genres of music -- bluegrass, gospel, and country -- into world-class instrumentation, power-packed vocals, and intricate family harmony.

The group consists of mother Lily Isaacs, daughters Becky and Sonya, and son Ben, along with John Bowman (husband of Becky) as an instrumentalist and songwriter. Father Joe Isaacs, formerly a singer and banjo player in the group, left after his 1998 divorce from Lily. He now does solo work on a far more localized level.



Lily is The matriarch of the group. She was born in Germany to parents who survived the Holocaust and were liberated from concentration camps in the 1940s and grew up in a Jewish household. When asked about when she came to Salvation through Jesus, she replies, “When I married Joe, his father was a preacher and Joe was the baby of seventeen children raised in the mountains of Kentucky. We were married about a year when his brother died in a car accident. Because of this tragedy, we went to church one night and that’s when I found the Lord. I started praying that night, having never known about Salvation or about feeling the Spirit of God. I was just in awe of everything and it was an amazing feeling. It kind of filled that void in my heart because for many years I believe I was almost an atheist – I didn’t believe in anything. Even though I was Jewish, I wasn’t raised religious and didn’t know what I believed in. When my parents found out I was going to a Christian church, they gave me an ultimatum and told me that if I didn’t give up that 'crazy religion' that I could forget about ever coming home again, which was just devastating. It was a crossroads in my life and I felt like I had enough God in my life that I had to stay with the Lord and He pulled me through it. It took months, maybe a year before my family accepted me back home, but they did”.

Lily is the business manager for the group and she lends her beautiful voice to songs performed on stage each night. She loves traveling with her family and spoiling her grandchildren.

Ben, the eldest, plays the upright “slap” bass and sings, writes songs, and also does studio production for other artists. He also manages the Isaacs performance sound. He is married to Melinda and they have three children, Jacob, Cameron, and Kyra.

Sonya, the middle child, plays the mandolin and sings lead on most of their numbers. She also writes music for The Isaacs as well as for other artists and in 2008 was signed by Disney Music Publishing as a song writer. Sonya won 2007-8 Inspirational Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year.

Becky Plays guitar, sings, and writes music, including the hit song “Stand Still." She also sings backup for many other artists. Becky loves fashion and has her cosmetologist license. She is married to John R. Bowman and they have two children, Levi and Jakobi.

All three are exceptional musicians, but I really love their acapella performances, as seen here on "Blessed Assurance" at a Gaither Homecoming performance:



Here they sing "Hallellujah," and each of the four takes a solo verse, with mom, Lili leading off in her native Hebrew. This is from Gaither's Israel Homecoming...



Here is Becky at a Gaither Homecoming taking the lead on "I Surrender All" -- with Sonya harmonizing and taking a solo mandolin verse, and Ben joining on the final verse:



Here they put a bit of a bluegrass/country tinge on the standard hymn, "He Touched Me," while showcasing their instrumental process and their unique style of tight-harmony:



And here's another acapella song including mom in the group...



The Isaacs’ many awards and accomplishments include Grammy nominations and four Dove Awards including the 2008 Dove Award for Country Album of the Year ( Big Sky). In addition to their success as performers and recording artists, Becky and Sonya are also making their mark on the gospel music industry as songwriters. Most recently, their song, "Your Cries Have Awoken the Master" was named the #1 Singing News Song of 2008.

The Isaacs have become a favorite on the Gaither Homecoming Tour and they maintain a full schedule of their own tour dates, performing in all kinds of venues from small country churches to bluegrass festivals to large arenas, as well as their regular appearances on the Grand Ole Opry.


The Isaacs' blog is here.
The Isaacs' website is here.